Research & reports

Dong In Lee, Ji Hwan Lee, Seung Ho Jang, Se Jong Oh, Ill Chul Doo · Applied Sciences · Global

This study proposes a deep learning-based crop disease diagnosis solution for novice urban farmers, integrating Image Captioning and Object Detection models. The Image Captioning model, using InceptionV3 and Transformer, achieved an average BLEU score of 64.96%, demonstrating high performance in generating detailed diagnostic sentences. The Object Detection model, employing YOLOv5, achieved an mAP50 of 0.382, indicating a need for further improvement in detecting infected areas.

Divyam Jindal · International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) · Global

This research introduces an AI-based model that uses satellite imaging, machine learning, and demographic projections to optimize urban agriculture. The model integrates soil analysis, water availability prediction, crop recommendations, and population growth projections for informed decision-making. It aims to optimize land use and balance urbanization, food security, and environmental sustainability.

Jamille Anderson Luiz da Silva, Paula Tereza de Souza e Silva · Cadernos de Prospecção · Global

This study aimed to identify mobile applications developed or used for offering and trading food products in community gardens, through scientific and technological prospecting. Searches were conducted across multiple databases using keywords like "Aplicativo," "App," "Software," "Horta," and "Agricultura urbana." The results showed few applications associated with the theme, with most intended for specific localities and few available for widespread use, indicating a limited effect of existing tools.

Aubrey Lynn Garcia, M.A.C. Griffith, George Paul Buss, Xiusheng Yang, John L. Griffis, Sarah E. Bauer, Ankit Singh · Agricultural Sciences · Global

This review investigates Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) as a potential solution for food security, discussing its rationale, growth factors, and technologies. While indoor farming systems like vertical farming enhance urban access to food, the cost of CEA remains high, though it is decreasing due to technological advances.

Puteri Sidrotul Nabihah Saarani, Siti Nur Aishah Mohd Noor, Zailawati Khalid2, Asniza Hamimi Abdul Tharim, Asmalia Che Ahmad, Norhafizah Abdul Rahman, Mohamad Haizam Mohamed Saraf · International Journal of Business and Technology Management · Malaysia

This paper aimed to develop a conceptual framework for Life Cycle Cost (LCC) in the context of smart urban farming through an in-depth literature review. Employing the Iceberg Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model, the conceptual framework for Smart UF LCC components was divided into acquisition cost and hidden cost. This framework assists in decision-making by providing a holistic view of the costs involved in a project or investment.

Hanum Isfaeni, Naufal Ma’arif, Muhammad Zaki Ananda, Sayyid Izzudin Muslimin, Reza Dino Mahardika, Galang Adi Fathriko · Jurnal Layanan Masyarakat (Journal of Public Services) · Global

This activity aimed to introduce aquaponics as an urban farming model to students, fostering knowledge about modern agriculture and animal husbandry in urban areas. It involved 18 students and 1 accompanying teacher. The activity was carried out through discussion and demonstration of an aquaponic system.

Simon Marvin, Lauren Rickards, Jonathan Rutherford · Urban Studies · Global

This paper critically examines urban controlled environment agriculture (CEA), reconceptualizing it as an emergent urban infrastructure for artificial, highly productive microclimates. It argues that CEA attempts to secure food production through three spatial-temporal fixes: enclosing food production indoors, moving it closer to cities, and integrating it into city buildings, thereby extending existing agricultural logics. The paper identifies future research challenges for urban studies regarding CEA.

Jamil Abedalrahim Jamil Alsayaydeh, Mohd Faizal Yusof, A.B. Razak Salmi, Adam Wong Yoon Khang, Safarudin Gazali Herawan · International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications · Global

An innovative mobile application was developed to enable users to order irrigated vegetable crops directly from urban farmers. The application utilizes simple fertigation system technology, easily implementable in small areas, and creates an online marketplace that bypasses traditional supply chains. Additionally, a monitoring system is integrated, allowing farmers to remotely monitor and control their farms.

Margaret S. Gumisiriza, Patrick A. Ndakidemi, Zainah Nampijja, Ernest R. Mbega · Scientific African · Uganda

In Uganda, this study assessed vegetable performance using a non-greenhouse hydroponic system to investigate its potential as a sustainable urban farming technology for enhancing food security. Leafy lettuce (red and green) was grown using non-circulating hydroponics, with soil-based cultivation as a control, and six parameters—plant height, root length, number of leaves, lettuce weight, moisture content, and dry matter—were measured 20 and 40 days after transplanting. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between soil and hydroponic cultivation for dry matter content, fresh weight, and root length, but based on the number of leaves, hydroponics showed potential to perform as equally well as conventional farming.

Tong Jee Goh, Shirley S. Ho · Environmental Communication · Singapore

This study examined the relationships among technological optimism, biospheric values, attention to media content on urban farming risks and benefits, and norm-activation constructs in predicting the intention to consume urban farm produce. A cross-sectional survey in Singapore (N=1209) found that technological optimism and biospheric values influenced attention to media content. These variables, in turn, influenced personal norms and consumption intention through the norm-activation constructs.

Anang Suhardianto, Ariyanti Hartari · SAINTEKES Jurnal Sains Teknologi Dan Kesehatan · Global

This study investigated the effect of using biofloc catfish pond water, AB mix solution, and their 1:1 combination for aquaponic cultivation of caisim, pakchoy, and kailan plants. The combination of biofloc pond water and AB mix solution at a 1:1 ratio yielded the highest growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaves, and fresh weight, for all three plant types. The research concluded that biofloc catfish pond water can serve as a substitute for AB mix solution in aquaponic cultivation of caisim, pakchoy, and kailan.

· International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science · Global

An IoT and artificial intelligence-based smart gardening and irrigation system was developed to simplify the maintenance of rooftop and balcony gardens for urban greening. The system utilizes hardware such as NodeMCU ESP8266, a water motor, battery, relay module, rain sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, and soil moisture sensors. It enables users to water plants manually or automatically via the internet from anywhere using a smartphone, making gardening easier for individuals with limited time.

Jung-Ho Byeon, Yong-Ju Kwon · Journal of Baltic Science Education · Global

This study developed a biology class program where students constructed a virtual world and explored living organisms using a digital twin platform, addressing challenges of frequent outdoor inquiry in school gardens. Researchers assessed changes in students' affective domain. The experimental group showed more positive changes in the affective domain of learning biology compared to the control group, attributed to replicating the school garden for indoor and outdoor exploration.

Laura Amelia López, Juan Pablo Ayala, Nicoll Yeliltza Parra, Adriana Alejandra Vargas, Juan Sebastián González, John Manuel Silva · Encuentro de Ciencias Básicas · Colombia (Bogotá)

This study presents a project by students from the Catholic University of Colombia, focusing on community-oriented urban agriculture to promote food security in vulnerable populations. An experimental strategy was used, employing a vertical module with an ESP 32 board and sensors to observe variables such as temperature, humidity, and pH. Prototype development, device design, and the production and growth of Batavia lettuce seedlings were achieved, followed by field piloting of the sensor application in community urban farming modules.

Raj, T. Yuvan, Divashen, C., Pillaiy, K. Nishart, Pretthic, S., Rishwin, S. · UiTM Institutional Repositories (Universiti Teknologi MARA) · Global

This smart aquaponic garden system integrates aquaculture and hydroponics with IoT sensors to monitor water parameters and optimize plant growth. A central monitoring platform processes real-time data to maintain optimal conditions for plants and fish and detect abnormalities. The system offers remote access and control, aiming to promote sustainable agriculture, reduce water consumption, and provide an accessible platform for local food production in urban farming and community gardens.

Muhammad Izzad Ramli, Muhammad Azizi Mohd Ariffin, Zarina Zainol, Mohd Nazrul Mohd Amin, Dedeng Hirawan, I D Sumitra, Nursuriati Jamil · Pertanika journal of science & technology · Global

This paper proposes a design for a Smart Portable Farming Kit, an IoT-based system for cultivating short-duration vegetables and mushrooms indoors in urban areas. The prototype design is simple, lightweight, and durable, requiring minimal user attention. It proved better than traditional setups by increasing mushroom yield, making oyster mushroom cultivation easier and more profitable in urban areas.

David Vallejo-Gómez, Marisol Osorio, Carlos A. Hincapié · Agronomy · Global

This research aims to conduct a systematic review of available literature on smart irrigation systems. It focuses on systems using artificial intelligence techniques for soil crops in urban and rural agriculture to identify those currently in use or adaptable to urban agriculture. A modified PRISMA 2020 method was applied, screening 170 articles, with 50 selected for detailed analysis.

Josep Pueyo‐Ros, Joaquím Comas, Ina Säumel, Joana Castellar, Lucía Alexandra Popartan, Vicenç Acuña, Lluís Corominas · Nature-Based Solutions · Global

A paper addressing the problem that serious games proposed as a tool to foster civic participatory processes often fail due to lack of funding or design skills, presenting a new framework for designing serious games for participatory planning of nature-based solutions, with guidance on definition, content, and evaluation steps. The framework's usefulness is illustrated through the design of the Edible City Game (ECG), a digital serious game for participatory planning of edible city solutions (urban nature-based solutions with a food component), which was implemented on Tygron, a platform providing a graphical interface for urban-planning serious games. The paper argues that while Tygron provides user-friendly software for designing serious games, the final product still requires a proper design-oriented process to fulfil its purpose.

Ryan Fraser Kirwan, Farhat Abbas, Indriyati Atmosukarto, A. W. Y. Loo, Jong‐Hwan Lim, Sang-Soo Yeo · Frontiers in the Internet of Things · Global

This study, conducted with a Singaporean urban farming company, presents an IoT-based automated farming system consisting of an agnostic growbox and a web dashboard for monitoring crop growth. Using an image analytics approach to classify crop disease phenotypes — specifically chlorosis and tip burn — in lettuce, the researchers compared it against a machine learning approach on the same dataset. The image analytics approach showed scalability, time efficiency, and accuracy in disease detection, with advantages over the machine learning approach in time and cost efficiency.

Nasreen Khan, Teck Chai Lau, Booi Chen Tan · Food Research · Global

A qualitative content analysis examining social entrepreneurship and adoption factors behind smart urban farming among elderly people. Interviews were conducted via purposive sampling and analyzed using the framework method, drawing on diffusion of innovation theory and the theory of planned behavior. It found that positive attitudes and positive social influence increase adoption of smart urban farming, that using technology can help elderly farmers continue farming, and that effective social entrepreneurship involvement - providing information and technical advice - influenced adoption. Ease of use was the most important adoption factor, with attitude and subjective norms also shown to be influential.

Amy Hui‐Mei Lin, Andrea Gómez‐Maqueo · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global

A review paper (2023) examines the challenge of strengthening food security — especially production of staple food carbohydrates — in places with limited or unavailable land and natural resources, using the city-state of Singapore as its case. Unlike some alternative foods such as cultured meat, producing carbohydrate foods through conventional agri-food approaches requires substantial natural resources unavailable in regions like Singapore, so the paper argues for developing new, sustainable methods to increase the quantity and nutritional quality of carbohydrate-rich foods. It reviews technology developments such as indoor vertical farming and urban farming used to improve crop quality and production, and recommends exploring underutilized and unconventional resilient, nutrient-dense crops, identifying hidden resources in local ecosystems such as revalorizing agri-food processing byproducts, and producing alternative carbohydrates including microbial and synthetic sources, suggesting Singapore's experience and approaches may serve as an example and inspire creativity for other regions.

Marco Antonio Márquez-Vera, Brenda Eguiluz-Ruiz, Ricardo Calderón-Suárez · Advances in finance, accounting, and economics book series · Global

This book chapter examines the integration of smart technologies—IoT, AI, and data analytics—into urban agriculture. It argues that real-time monitoring, circular resource systems, intelligent irrigation, and controlled environments can improve resource efficiency, productivity, and sustainability in the face of challenges like limited arable land and conventional practices, while acknowledging costs and technology dependence as obstacles and emphasizing collaboration and education for successful implementation; no empirical data are presented.

Urban Sustainability Exchange (Metropolis) · Urban Sustainability Exchange (Metropolis) · Colombia

A case study on Bogotá's expansion of urban and peri-urban agriculture as a response to COVID-19 and the climate crisis. With technical support from the Bogotá Botanical Garden, 14,266 people received basic urban-agriculture training and 31,926 received technical assistance between the second half of 2020 and February 2022, while 11,970 vegetable gardens were supplied with inputs. In April 2022 the city launched the AUPA mobile app for real-time data collection and updates.

Grace Ning Yuan, Gian Powell B. Marquez, Haoran Deng, Anastasiia Iu, Melisa Fabella, Reginald B. Salonga, Fitrio Ashardiono, Joyce A. Cartagena · Heliyon · Global

This review examined urban agriculture (UA) across technology, socio-economy, and policy, noting that supporting UA expansion in cities is challenging due to its poor economic profitability. The study highlighted UA's value beyond profitability, including social, health and well-being, disaster risk reduction, and environmental benefits. It also presented advancements in UA technologies and plant biotechnology as potential solutions for increasing the future profitability of commercial UA.

Michael G. Parkes, Duarte Leal Azevedo, Tiago Domingos, Ricardo F. M. Teixeira · Atmosphere · Global

This literature review, covering 28 articles from 2015–2022 on 68 active urban agriculture (UA) installations, systematizes narratives about the benefits of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and soil-less growing systems in urban buildings. The review found that data quantifying the claimed benefits are limited, and thus the exact environmental effects of CEA remain undetermined.